LocFemRep: Female political representation in local governments: stereotypes, institutional rules, policy outcomes

Research project funded by the Polish National Science Center (grant Opus)

The project examines gender gaps in local political representation in European democracies, focusing on why women remain underrepresented, even though local politics is often considered the easiest entry point to power. It compares representation at local and national levels and between councils and executive bodies, asking, among other things, whether the direct election of mayors (as in Poland since 2002) reduces women’s presence in local government. In Poland, it combines advanced quantitative analysis of existing data with original survey experiments among voters and local elites to study gender stereotypes, evaluations of female versus male candidates, and the ambitions and expectations of women in local office. Finally, it investigates whether the gender of local policymakers affects public policies.

Quantitative Political Research Workshop series

The Quantitative Political Research Workshop series consists of informal meetings held several times a year, during which quantitatively-oriented social researchers present work in progress and receive feedback to advance their projects toward publication. To date, nine workshops have been organized at academic institutions in Warsaw, Kraków, and Łódź, bringing together researchers from various Polish universities as well as invited international guests.

ISESS – Interdisciplinary Seminar in Empirical Social Science

The Seminar is hosted by the Centre for Excellence in Social Science (CESS) at the University of Warsaw and funded through the University’s Excellence Initiative – Research University (IDUB) programme. Since 2020, it has served as a forum for researchers across the social sciences, providing a space to present ongoing projects, discuss preliminary results, and receive feedback.